Rosellini memorial: ‘We’ll miss you, friend’

He counted presidents as confidantes and helped shape Washington state in the boom times following World War II, but former Gov. Albert Rosellini was also the type of man who never forgot his humble beginnings, pausing to chat with janitors on his way to inaugural balls and remembering people he met from all walks of life during his long career, family and colleagues recalled during a memorial service on Monday.

Rosellini, who served two terms from 1957 to 1965, died Oct. 10 from complications relations to pneumonia. He was 101.

Rosellini in June, 2001. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

At funeral mass attended by leading current and past political figures at St. James Cathedral, his daughter Lynn Rosellini spoke of a dad who delighted in water balloon fights and “all things Italian.”

She also described the tough world Albert Rosellini was born into more than a century ago. As a child, her father was teased mercilessly for speaking Italian and had to go work at a young age to help support his family. As an adult living through the Great Depression, Albert Rosellini never trusted banks again, his daughter said, and was constantly on the look out for sale items at local drug stores.

Despite such experiences, Albert Rosellini was the eternal optimist.

“His motto was always, ‘things could be worse,’” Lynn Rosellini said.

Born to Italian immigrant parents in Tacoma on Jan. 21, 1910, Rosellini grew up in the Rainier Valley. He graduated from the University of Washington with a law degree in 1933, in the midst of the Depression, after working janitorial jobs to help pay for his schooling.

He worked for then-King County Prosecutor Warren Magnuson, the eventual powerhouse senator who urged Rosellini to run for a state Senate seat. The young lawyer Rosellini was elected to the Legislature in 1938.

The Rev. William Treacy, who delivered the homily, said he’d known “the governor” for more than 50 years. He noted that his late sister Rena worked to help put Rosellini through law school. At her funeral, Treacy said he kidded Albert Rosellini: “Governor, her name should be on the 520 bridge.”

Treacy said Albert Rosellini laughed – and agreed.

The 520 bridge is named for Rosellini, and he helped found the University of Washington Medical School and was a key figure in bringing the 1962 World’s Fair to Seattle.

Gary Locke, the U.S. ambassador to China and two-term former governor, read a letter from President Barack Obama, who offered “his heartfelt condolences” and noted that Albert Rosellini had offered “guidance that has shaped the path of generations of our nation’s leaders.”

Locke said he shared many things with his predecessor – the same birth date (Jan. 21), a similar background as the son of immigrants and a public service career that began in the King Co. prosecutor’s office.

Locke said Rosellini was instrumental in improving the state’s mental health services and prisons and always sought to represent those without power.

In the Legislature, Rosellini chaired a committee to study the juvenile justice system and juvenile detention centers. He also urged investigations of the state’s prisons and mental health hospitals.

“Al championed those who had no champion,” Locke said.

He reflected how much the world had changed since 1910. “Back then, emperors ruled China, Russia and central Europe,” Locke said. “Back then, women could not vote.”

Locke marveled that “the governor” was active in public life well into his 90s, and laughed when he recounted an anecdote from Rosellini’s 100th birthday party. Rosellini teased the other former governors, saying he was most proud that during his eight-year tenure in Olympia the Washington Huskies went to the Rose Bowl more times than any other governor – 1960, ’61 and ’64.